Training and Education

I HAVE written quite often in this space about the role of “product” in the overall marketing strategy for any company; that is, the physical product or service offered to the customer. There are many exciting new products and services that printers are offering to their customers these days that go beyond print to address a broader swath of the business objectives their customers are trying to achieve. This includes multi-channel communications—incorporating e-mail, PDF distribution, Web, personalized URLs/Web microsites and other communications alternatives along with a print campaign; variable data solutions; transpromotional communications or the use of what is being called “onserts” in place

AMELIA ISLAND, FL—February 21, 2008—Print Buyers Online.com, a free, educational e-community for print buyers, print communications professionals and their suppliers in partnership with Print Communications Professionals International (PCPI), the premier association dedicated to print buyers, hosted their seventh annual Print Oasis Print Buyers Conference & Exhibit February 9-12, 2008. The event took place at the exotic ocean-front location of Amelia Island Plantation on Amelia Island, FL. Over 400 people participated in the conference, including 228 attendees (232 registered). Mark Hoog, the author of Growing Fields Books and executive director of Children’s Leadership Institute, set the tone for the conference by empowering

WITH 60,000 graphic arts industry employees leaving the workforce each year—and only a fraction of them being replaced—it’s easy to understand why printers are having a tough time finding skilled labor. When the going gets tough, and printers need an infusion of new workers, chances are, they’ll simply snag them from their competitors. Which still leaves a gaping hole in the industry’s workforce. In a business world based on supply and demand, the graphic communications segment continues to turn statistics on their head. In this unique manufacturing field, supply is low, demand is high, yet skilled labor is hard to find. So, what’s the

ARE YOU going to Drupa 2008? In its 14th edition (the first Drupa was in 1951, 57 years ago!), it will be the largest ever, with more than 1,800 exhibitors from 50 countries and more than 1.8 million square feet of exhibit space. More than 400,000 visitors are expected during its two-week run, beginning May 29th. Why do I bring that up in a column about marketing? Classic marketing texts talk about the “4Ps” of marketing: Product, Price, Promotion and Place. • Product: This is the physical product or service offered to the customer. It also refers to any services or conveniences that are

WHAT IF you could find one basic concept that would have a powerfully positive impact on all aspects of personnel management at your printing establishment? What if it would do more to help you avoid employee lawsuits than any compliance training you could provide to your managers or employees? What if it would do more to boost employee morale and overall performance than any set of policies, evaluation protocols or progressive discipline system? And, what if this concept came as close to “the answer” to successful human resources management as any company is likely to ever get? The answer lies in monkeys, rocks, cucumbers

THERE ARE two ways to view the current state of safety in the printing industry. On the one hand, as manufacturing industries go, printing is a relatively safe profession that has witnessed a steady decline in the rate of recorded injuries and illnesses, according to the PIA/GATF figures maintained by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. According to the most current reporting data, in 2006, the manufacturing sector had an injury and illness rate of 6.0 per 100 full time employees. Printing and publishing had a rate of just 4.2 per 100 full time employees. Unfortunately, the worst of our injuries have been splashed

AMELIA ISLAND, FL—With daytime temperatures in the 70s and clear skies throughout the Print Oasis Print Buyers Conference and Exhibit, held here February 9th to 12th at the Plantation Resort, the Sunshine State lived up to its name. So did the quality of educational sessions and networking opportunities available to the 400 people attending the seventh annual conference geared toward print buyers, production professionals and specifiers. Hosted by Suzanne Morgan, founder of Print Buyers Online.com and Print Communications Professionals International (PCPI), this year’s event featured a special environmental sustainability track for the first time. Special presenters included Scott Paul from Greenpeace USA, Katie Miller

ALEXANDRIA, VA—February 28, 2008FOCUS trade shows, hosted by the Print Services & Distribution Association (PSDA), will bring a new level of education to regional print distributors at they tour the country. Rick Farrell, one of the industry’s leading print sales motivators and professional sales coach, will lead the events’ in-depth presentation “How to Sell into Vertical Markets”. Farrell has over 25 years of professional sales and business development experience. His out of the box approach will demonstrate creative tactics print sales professionals can adopt to get in the door and start a business relationship with print buyers across a range of vertical markets.

LAS VEGAS—Print UV 2008, a peer-oriented industry conference aimed at growing UV print markets, will take place here March 2-4 at the Wynn Las Vegas Resort.

PITTSBURGH—February 20, 2008—The Binding Industries Association (BIA) has finalized the key sessions at its Mid-Management Conference which will be held April 28–29, 2008 at the Renaissance Schaumburg Hotel & Conference Center in Schaumburg, IL. This meeting will be the first international mid-management conference in over seven years. The conference targets the mid-management of graphic finishing, information packaging, custom loose-leaf manufacturing, trade binderies, and the suppliers to those ind ustries. Some of the sessions at the conference include: Regional Trends in Binding & Finishing, Lessons in Leadership—The HR Side of the Business, Lean Manufacturing, Being Green—Customer Expectations & The Impact to Your Business, and a